We all have a purpose and a destiny upon our lives whether we know it or not. Truly our purpose is to fulfill the will of God upon our lives, but in order to do that we have to know what the will of God is and then begin to walk in it. Generally we all have a purpose to fulfill here on the earth. That is to know Him and His Son Jesus Christ. That is step number one, there is no use going on to the next steps if we havenít first made Jesus Lord in our lives. If we try to fulfill the will of God without first knowing God we will be walking in our own vanity, and we will not fulfill Godís purpose nor will we ever be fulfilled ourselves.

After this there is fulfilling of Godís general Word. In other words walking in the general purpose God has given to all believers, learning to walk in power of the Word and follow after the Holy Spirit of God. We are not going to go very far if we donít know the Word of God and follow after His Holy Spirit. Every believer also has a specific will God has called him or her to fulfill.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The Word of God is saying through the Apostle Paul the before the world was created God ordained certain good works for us to walk in. He knows the beginning from the end and He knows what we are supposed to do in our time here.

1 Peter 1:17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in fear;

You might say I donít know what I am supposed to be doing. I am not called into the ministry. It is true that all are not called to the 5 fold ministry, Apostle Prophet, Pastor, Evangelist, and Teacher. But we all are called to good works. Even as Paul said to the Ephesians, we were created in Christ Jesus for good works before the world was created. I donít know if you have ever considered this quite this way, but God expects us to fulfill our calling here on the Earth, and we will be held accountable for our time here. As a matter of fact our reward in eternity will be based on what we do with what we have been given here and now. That is not to confused with our salvation, for salvation can not be earned by works.

Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

As the Apostle Peter said we will be judged according to our own works so we must conduct our time of sojourning here in fear. Sojourning simply means we are passing through. We have to do something while we are on our way to something else. We are not just occupying time and space. Jesus talked about this in the parable of the talents.

Matthew 25:14-31 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15. "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, `Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'
His lord said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, `Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' Then he who had received the one talent came and said, `Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' But his lord answered and said to him, `You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. Therefore you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

Each if these received talents according to their own ability, or we could say it like this, each person receives the grace to accomplish what God has for him to accomplish. No one was given an unfair burden and asked to do more than they were capable of doing. We only have to accomplish what God has placed in our hand to accomplish. Maybe you are called to work with children or be a teacher. If thatís the case take the talents God has given you and use them to build up the next generation. This is just one example but you can use your own judgement and see for your self that it takes the entire body of Christ to walk as a whole. We can fulfill Godís purpose individually but we must also fulfill Godís purpose collectively. I can't do it all any more than someone else can, I can only do what I have been graced to do. If I wonít do my part then this puts a greater burden on someone else to do more than they are supposed to do. When that happens as in the parable of the talents, what was given to the unprofitable servant will be taken away and given to someone who has more. This should be not only a warning to us but also to encourage us to reach out and fulfill the calling God has given each one of us.

I donít want to create fear but I want to help to encourage those who have never given much thought to this, and begin to seek God and find His purpose for their life. Have a willing and obedient attitude. Be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and you will see Godís clear direction unfold before you. Be willing to step out and go wherever the Lord leads. Heís not going to ask you to do something you are not capable or ready to do. He knows more than we do and we can certainly trust His judgement.

David was a very good example of this. God said through the writer of Acts that David was a man after Godís own heart.

Acts 13:22 "And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, `I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.' 23. "From this man's seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior Jesus

David was just a young boy herding sheep, yet God said he was a man after His own heart who will do all my will. David was in the back pasture herding sheep yet his heart sought after God and he had a desire to fulfill the purpose of God in his life. God didnít just choose him randomly. David was a willing and later became an obedient servant. David messed up many times yet because he was willing to repent when he messed up and go on regardless of the consequences God not only used him but his lineage became the lineage of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He was not only a man after Godís own heart but the end of verse 22 says he will do all My will. David fulfilled God purpose in his life by doing all Godís will. They go hand in hand, when you fulfill Godís will you will fulfill your own calling and destiny. This may sound like an obvious statement, however many Christians miss this obvious thing. They seek after career choices never even giving consideration to what God has for them. If God has called you to be an accountant then you will never be happy teaching and if you are called to teach you will never be happy as an accountant. God has placed something in each one of us to fulfill not only generally but specifically as well. No one else can tell you what your purpose is but if you will spend quiet time in Godís presence and listen to his voice you will know and Godís peace will be there to confirm the direction He has given you.

God wants us to succeed, He doesnít want us to fail. He has called us all to be happy and prosperous, but if we are unwilling or disobedient we wonít accomplish what He has given us to accomplish. We all have to start somewhere. So start where you are at now. You can repent of the past if you have messed up and start fresh right now.
It takes both a willing and obedient heart to fulfill Godís plan and purpose for your life.

Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

The Lord spoke this Scripture to me many years ago when I was at a crossroads in my life.
I was caught up in a situation at work that was not my doing and I had been unfairly associated with the ones who did some things I had no control over. Because of this I started to get a bad attitude about my job. I didnít really realize it at the time but an unwilling attitude crept up on me slowly. When the Lord spoke this to me I had been praying about a job promotion that had come up. I knew in the natural that it wasnít likely but I prayed and asked in faith. When the Lord spoke this Scripture to me I realized the attitude problem I had and immediately repented. I changed my attitude immediately and my whole outlook changed as well. Because of this the Lord blessed me with the promotion and I can look back and see that it was to change the course of my life. This would never have happened if I had not repented and turned into a willing as well as an obedient servant.

Remember what the Prophet Isaiah said, ďthe willing and obedient will eat the good of the land.Ē We must all have a willing heart and be obedient to the general as well as the specific call on our lives. Amen.